Day 63, 4th June, Khiva
The Lonely Planet book says that Khiva’s name is redolent of slave caravans, barbaric cruelty, terrible desert journeys and steppes infested with wild tribesmen. It was founded when Shem, a … Read more
The Lonely Planet book says that Khiva’s name is redolent of slave caravans, barbaric cruelty, terrible desert journeys and steppes infested with wild tribesmen. It was founded when Shem, a … Read more
A crap day. It should have taken us three hours to drive from Takhiatash to Khiva but took us nearly seven. The road wasn’t bad, but there are no signs. … Read more
After an excellent night’s sleep despite the howling gale and dust storm outside, we set off for the Uzbek border full of trepidation. We hadn’t been able to buy Kazakh … Read more
Got as far as Dossor, following a Kazakh truck on a beautiful road and spent the night on what looked like a truck stop in the centre of the city. … Read more
You might not think that there is much to write about in the arid steppe of north-western Kazakhstan. However just walking in this vast empty space, flat as a pancake, … Read more
Went to see the grandiose theatre before setting of for Sarai Batu. We were sorry to leave Astrakhan, a gentle place that moves as slowly as the Volga and with … Read more
A lazy day. We walked eastwards to the town’s biggest shopping mall. The aim was to buy face cream (not for me) and Euro-2018 tee-shirts as presents. They were nearly … Read more
A relaxing day, which I needed after yesterday’s long drive. We walked along the Volga Embankment, and saw the various statues and bronze models including the shoeshine boy, Peter the … Read more
Walked round Kizlyar for a short time, marvelling how a town with such a grisly history could recover. In 1996, Chechen terrorists invaded Dagestan and kidnapped over 1,000 people. They … Read more
We went for a short walk in Vladikavkaz, where I took a few pics including the beautiful ceiling of the railway booking hall after going through security. A nearby building … Read more